Published by: Tim Smith, Tom Fisher and Debbie Pearson
According to DPAA, as of September 15th there are:
- 1602 Missing from the Vietnam War
- 126 Missing from the Cold War
- 7727 Missing from the Korean War
- 73007 Missing from the WWII
The Volvo New River Valley Truck Plant has been asked to participate in the POW/MIA Flag SO State Tour. The tour departing September 23, 2017 and will arrive May 19, 2018.
The detail in this is so gripping you can feel the emotion within...
Thank you for sharing this amazing story and pictures Mark Peterson!
This year's truck tells the story of...Mike Christian, Vietnam POW. The American Flag symbolizes the hope and inspiration that is the essence of everyone and everything in the United States. There is another story that epitomizes the emotion and pride every American feels for the flag and underscores the importance of the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Vietnam War...1971, Prisoners of War (POW's) were moved from isolation and 2 men cells into large rooms at the Hanoi Hilton. One of those prisoners was Mike Christian. Mike came from a very small, poor town in Alabama. He didn't wear a pair of shoes until he was thirteen (13). At seventeen (17), he enlisted in the Navy, later to earn a commission and become a Naval Flying Officer and was shot down and captured in 1967 and served honorable for the next 5 years as a Prisoner of War in Vietnam.
The uniforms the Americans wore were the Vietnamese pajamas, only they were blue and rubber sandals made of automobile tires. Mike made himself a bamboo needle and began collecting some cloth of red and white. Although old, tattered and dingy, the cloth has a purpose. Mike began sewing a makeshift American flag on the inside of his shirt. Once Mike was done, it was the practice of the prisoners that every afternoon before they got their ration of grass or pumpkin soup, Mike would hold the shirt up and the prisoners would recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Repeating the Pledge of Allegiance may not be the most important part of the average American day, but for those men in that stark prison cell. It was the most important and meaningful event of their day.
One day, the Vietnamese searched the cell and discovered Mike's shirt with the flag sewn inside, removed it and him and beat Mike Christian severely for hours. Once they were done, they threw him back in the cell and gave warning to the other prisoners. Mike was not in good shape and near crippled, his comrades tried to comfort and take care of him as best they could. The cell had a concrete slab on which the men slept, a naked light bulb was in each corner of the room. After things had quieted down for the evening, in the corner of the room, sitting beneath that dimly lit bulb with a piece of white cloth, a piece of red cloth and another blue shirt and his bamboo needle, was Mike Christian. His eyes almost swollen shut from the beating, he was fashioning another makeshift American Flag.
Mike Christian was not making that flag because it made him feel better. He was making that flag because he knew how important it was for his fellow prisoners to be able to pledge reverence to god and allegiance to their country.
America: Land of the Free, Because of the Brave!
May GOD continue to Bless US and May GOD Bless AMERICA We Stand!
HUMOR CORNER
One morning, a grandmother was surprised to find that her 7-year-old grandson had made her coff ee.
Smiling, she choked down the worst cup of her life.
When she finished, she found three little army men at the bottom of the mug. " Honey, what are these army men doing in my coffee?"
Her grandson smiled and answered,
" Like it says on TV, grandma, the best part of waking up, is soldiers in your cup!"
Joe Rosenthal's "Raising the flag on lwo Jima" is perhaps the most significant photograph of all time. It not only boosted America's morale during WWII, it came to symbolize the US Marine Corps and our nation's resolve to fight tyranny. While the photo is arguably the most recognized and reproduced in the world, the name of the photographer who created it is in danger of being lost to history. A US Navy warship named for the lat e Joe Rosenthal will keep his name in public in a place of honor, and keep alive the history of American resolve, and the sacrifices of our Armed Forces protecting our Freedoms. The petit ion will be delivered on October 9, 2017, Joe's birthday.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/423/ 609/836/ Please sign and ask your friends to sign! Thanks!
WE NEED YOUR HELP!
HealthCare is the issue at hand.
Time to get all involved!
Senate Republicans are making another attempt to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). And they aren't waiting to learn about the disastrous effects of this new bill from the Congressional Budget Office.
Why the rush to take health care away from 15 million Americans next year? Because the clock runs out at the end of this month for them to end Obamacare. Senate Republicans will do anything they can to take healthcare away from 30 million people over the next decade, all to give corporations, millionaires and billionaires huge tax breaks.
Call 1-866-287-6350 now and tell your Senator to OPPOSE the GRAHAM- CASSIDY HEALTH CARE PLAN!
The new ACA repeal effort is called the Graham-Cassidy-Heller plan. If passed, it would cause 11 million on Medicaid to lose their coverage and let states end important protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Millions of people with employer-provided insurance and thousands of veterans would also lose their coverage.
Once again, we need your help to stop this attempt to take health care coverage from millions of Americans, including all UAW members and their families.
Call 1-866-287-6350 now and tell your Senator to OPPOSE the GRAHAM CASSIDY HEALTH CARE PLAN!
What is Honor Flight?
To express our thanks to these brave men and women time is running out.
Our Mission: To transport America's Veterans to Washington, DC to visit those memorials dedicated to honor the service and sacrifices of themselves and their friends.
Honor Flight Network is a non-profit organization created solely to honor America's veterans for all their sacrifices. We transport our heroes to Washington, D.C. to visit and reflect at their memorials. Top priority is given to the senior veterans - World War II survivors, along with those other veterans who may be terminally ill.
Of all the wars in recent memory, it was World War II that truly threatened our very existence as a nation-and as a culturally diverse, free society. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, an estimated 640 WWII veterans die each day. Our time to express our thanks to these brave men and women is running out.
https:// www.honorflight .org/tour-schedule/
131 - Honor Flight Hubs - 45 US States Covered
In Louisville, KY it is the " Honor Flight of the Bluegrass"
What We Do
Honor Flight Bluegrass, is an Honor Flight Network Chapter based in Louisville, Kentucky, and is recognized as a 501(C)(3), all-volunteer, non-profit organization created to honor America's WWII, Korean, and Vietnam veterans for all their sacrifices.
We fly our heroes to Washington, DC and provide them with a first class, VIP, Police escorted tour to each of their respective memorials to honor their service, sacrifices and create the greatest memory of a lifetime.
Top priority is given to those Veterans from any war or conflict that have been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Subsequent priorities are given to World War II, Korean, and Vietnam War Veterans.
Here is the link to see when this is happening in your area:
https:/ / www. honorflight.org/tour-schedule/
Another way to get involved in the communities!
Who's in? I am!
THIS JUST IN from the VVA September 24, 2017
From: Bob Lee
Subject: VVA: DD-214s are NOW Online
Please Note the Current Information Regarding DD-214.
It's official; DD-214's are NOW Online.
The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) has provided the following web site for veterans to gain access to their DD-214's online at http:/ / www.archives . gov/veterans/milit ary-ser vice-records/
This may be particularly helpful when a veteran needs a copy of his DD-214 for employment purposes. NPRC is working to make it easier for veterans with computers and Internet access to obtain copies of documents from their military files.
Military veterans and the next of kin of deceased former military members may now use a new online military personnel records system to request documents.
Other individuals with a need for documents must still complete the Standard Form 180, which can be downloaded from the on-line web site. Because the requester will be asked to supply all information essential for NPRC to process the request, delays that normally occur when NPRC has to ask veterans for additional information will be minimized. The new web based application was designed to provide better service on these requests by eliminating the records center mail room and processing time.
Please pass this information on to former military personnel you may know and their dependents. |
